On This Day

August 1958 in History

Events in History

  • Aug 1 US 1st class postage up to 4 cents (had been 3 cents for 26 years)
  • Aug 1 US atomic submarine USS Nautilus begins 1st transit of North Pole "Operation Sunshine"
  • Aug 2 American pilots Jim Heth and Bill Burkhart take off from Dallas, Texas in "The Old Scotchman", their modified Cessna 172 in an effort to break airplane flight endurance record; they fly forslightly over 50 days, eclipsing existing record by more than 3 days
  • Aug 2 Jordan and Iraq dissolve their Arab Federation, after 3 months
  • Aug 3 USS Nautilus reaches North Pole, 1st submarine to achieve submarine transit of North Pole
  • Aug 5 Philip Kapleau, Zen teacher, 1st awakening under Yasutani Roshi
  • Aug 6 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island
  • Aug 14 Canadian Football League plays 1st game (Winnipeg 29, Edmonton 21)
  • Aug 14 Cleveland Indian Vic Power steals home twice in 1 game
  • Aug 14 KLM Superconstellation crashes west of Ireland, killing 99
  • Aug 15 Marshal Nikolai Bulganin resigns as Chairman of the Board of the State Bank of the USSR
  • Aug 17 World's 1st Moon probe, US's Thor-Able, explodes at T +77 sec

Radio History

Aug 18 Fidel Castro makes a speech on Cuban pirate radio Rebelde

Fidel Castro
Cuban Revolutionary and President Fidel Castro

Historic Publication

Aug 18 Novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov is published

Vladimir Nabokov
Novelist Vladimir Nabokov
  • Aug 18 Perez Prado "Mambo King" receives one of the 1st gold records
  • Aug 18 United Kingdom issues regional stamps (N Ireland, Scotland & Wales)
  • Aug 18 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
  • Aug 18 Verne Gagne beats Edouard Carpentier in Omaha, to become NWA champ
  • Aug 19 NAACP Youth Council begin sit-in at "whites-only" lunch counter at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma [1]
  • Aug 21 KUT-FM in Austin Texas begins radio transmissions
  • Aug 22 Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
  • Aug 22 Toronto's Boyd Carter (15 yards) and Dave Mann (116 yards) combine for CFL record for the longest punt return in 15-14 win over Montreal Alouettes in Toronto
  • Aug 23 People's Republic of China resumes bombardment of the Quemoy and Matsu islands in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis

Instant Ramen

Aug 25 Momofuku Ando markets the first package of precooked instant noodles (Chikin Ramen)

The packaging of the first chicken instant ramen in 1958
  • Aug 27 Clark Griffith says Senators will probably accept offer to move to Minnesota
  • Aug 27 US performs nuclear test at South Atlantic Ocean
  • Aug 27 USSR launches Sputnik 3 with two dogs aboard
  • Aug 29 US Air Force Academy's permanent site opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Aug 30 US performs nuclear test at S Atlantic Ocean

Birthdays in History

  • Aug 2 Chi Chia-wei, Taiwanese gay rights activist, born in Taiwan
  • Aug 4 Allison Hedge Coke, American poet and writer, born in Amarillo, Texas
  • Aug 4 Phil Scott, American politician, Governor of Vermont (2017-), born in Barre, Vermont
  • Aug 8 Deborah Norville, news anchor (Today Show, Inside Edition)
  • Aug 10 Rami Hamdallah, Palestinian politician, academic and Prime Minister of Palestine (2014-present), born in Anabta, West Bank
  • Aug 13 Domenico Dolce, Italian fashion designer (Dolce & Gabbana), born in Polizzi Generosa, Italy
  • Aug 13 Randall Shughart, American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, born in Lincoln, Nebraska (d. 1993)
  • Aug 15 Victor Shenderovich, Russian satirist
  • Aug 16 Peter "Jeff" K Wisoff, Norfolk VA, PhD/Astronaut (STS 57, 68, 81/84)
  • Aug 19 Brendan Nelson, Australian politician (Leader of the Liberal Party 2007-8), born in Coburg, Australia
  • Aug 19 Simon Beck, British cartographer and snow artist, born in London, England [1]
  • Aug 24 Chris Offutt, American writer (The Good Brother), born in Lexington, Kentucky
  • Aug 24 Tracy Harris, American artist, born in Lawton, Oklahoma
  • Aug 27 Kathy Hochul, American lawyer and politician, 1st female Governor of New York (2021-), born in Buffalo, New York
  • Aug 27 Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, Russian cosmonaut (TM-7, TM-12, STS 60)
  • Aug 27 Stalking Cat [Dennis Avner], body modifier (world record holder in body modification), born in Flint, Michigan (d. 2012)
  • Aug 27 Tom Lanoye, Belgian author
  • Aug 30 Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist and human rights activist, born in NYC, New York (d. 2006)
  • Aug 31 David H. Mattheisen, American engineer and astronaut (STS 73 alt), born in Blue Island, Illinois

Deaths in History

  • Aug 4 Ethel Anderson, Australian poet (b. 1883)
  • Aug 13 Otto Witte, acrobat and, purportedly, King of Albania (b. 1868)
  • Aug 14 Gladys Presley, mother of Elvis, dies at 46

Frédéric Joliot-CurieFrédéric Joliot-Curie (1900-1958)

Aug 14 French nuclear physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1936 for discovery of artificial radioactivity), dies at 58

Frédéric Joliot-Curie
  • Aug 14 Konstantin von Neurath, German diplomat (b.1873)
  • Aug 14 Mary Ritter Beard, American historian, dies at 82
  • Aug 22 Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist (Nobel Prize for Literature 1937), dies at 77
  • Aug 23 Martin du Gard, writer, dies
  • Aug 24 John G. Strijdom, South African politician and nationalist, Prime Minister of South Africa (1954-58), dies at 65
  • Aug 24 Paul Henry, Northern Irish artist, dies at 82
  • Aug 27 Ernest Lawrence, American nuclear scientist and inventor (Cyclotron - Nobel 1939), dies at 57

Historical Figures

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